The Wealth of Nations

Name: The Wealth of Nations
Brand: Blackstone Audiobooks
Availability: InStock
Author: Adam Smith
ISBN: 9781483087948

Author: Adam Smith

Narrator: Michael Edwards

Unabridged: 35 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Published: 12/06/2010

Categories: Nonfiction, Business & Economics

Synopsis

First published in 1776, this work is the classic statement of economic liberalism or the policy of laissez-faire and is widely considered on of the hundred greatest books of all time. Several fundamental principles or “axioms” were introduced in this work, including the division of labor, supply and demand, and free market capitalism as some of the most obvious. Smith’s political economy is primarily individualistic: self-interest is the incentive for economic action. However, he shows that universal pursuit of self-interest contributes to the public interest, a concept probably best encapsulated by John F. Kennedy when he remarked, “a rising tide raises all boats.”

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jon on October 11, 2024

One of the hardest books I have ever read - I feel overwhelmed as far as the concepts - so I will just make a general comment: If you want to understand the foundational concepts of economic policy and have the perspective of a true genius then this book is for you. It is SCARY how many situations A......more

Goodreads review by Erik on January 14, 2015

A prideful and ambitious boy, hearing that President Kennedy had been a speed reader, I cut lawns and shovelled walks to pay for an Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics program. We met in the spare basement of the hideous modern structure that passed for Park Ridge's "Inn"--a residence primarily for attenda......more

Goodreads review by Saadia on June 02, 2021

Oh this book was such a tiresome read that I finished 4 other books before completing this one. Started to take toll on me with so much unnecessary explanations which made no sense. Sometimes cringe worthy! Adam Smith was one of the few individuals who wanted the economic cycle to run itself. Hence......more

Goodreads review by Amit on August 01, 2018

An erudite who not only changed the shape of economics thinking but also laid the foundation of capitalism and industrialization. The book by him can be regarded as The Bible of economics.......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on September 06, 2024

2013 One of the best and most important books ever written. Period. Smith made a few mistakes, but he was a pioneer and what he did for the world with this book and his other book, Theory of Moral Sentiments, are incomparable gifts to mankind. His opening analysis of "division of labor" as being the c......more

Quotes

“Simply the best book on political economy ever written. It is a genuine ‘breakthrough’ book whose magisterial scope and synthesis have not been surpassed.” Dr. Razeen Sally, senior lecturer, London School of Economics, and codirector of the European Center for Political Economy

“Adam Smith’s enormous authority resides, in the end, in the same property that we discover in Marx: not in any ideology, but in an effort to see to the bottom of things.” Robert L. Heilbroner, author of The Worldly Philosophers

“The Wealth of Nations is no defender of ‘greed is good’ economics; the author’s humanity and benevolence tint every page.” Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute

“Edwards enunciates with unusual clarity, which helps with a book published in 1776.” Talking Book Review